While the Chicago Bears have won three in a row and the vibes are at an all-time high, this season, quarterback Caleb Williams has somewhat quietly been the subject of a situation that's gained a little steam over the past couple of weeks.
In a win over the Seattle Seahawks on Monday Night Football, Williams did something a little different than in the past couple of games.
He covered up the logo on his Caddix cleats.
Why is that such a big deal? Well, for those just catching up, Williams has now been fined twice by the NFL, in the past two weeks, for wearing the cleats. The Caddix logo is not an approved logo to be worn on an NFL field, thus Williams has been fined $11,941 and $23,882 in back-to-back weeks.
At first, the plan was to continue wearing them as-is, with both the company and Caddix investor, Joe Flacco, offering to pay his fines. But, Williams ended up changing his mind and covered up the logo on Monday night.
After the game, Williams was asked about his decision. In his postgame press conference with the media, here's Williams' response:
"Just to calm things down, man. This was a big week, and I'm not here to create any BS towards the team. I want to keep that to a minimum from my side. I'm just trying to minimize that as much as possible."
Caleb Williams' leadership includes both unabashed boldness and passion
We've all seen the rah-rah Caleb, by now. And the fans love it. Watching Williams on the sideline, late in the game on Monday night, was a beautiful picture of his leadership. He was passionately pumping up his defense to go and close this game out. Earlier in the game, Williams was energizing his offense in similar fashion after their opening-drive touchdown.
His energy and passion are contagious.
But, there are other moments that continue to prove he is well-rounded in how he leads. The decision to cover up the logo on his cleats is just another example.
He didn't want to be a distraction. He knew this was the biggest game of the season, to date. So, he took the high road and covered the logo; plain and simple.
We've also seen him now, many times, hold his teammates accountable. There was a specific moment where cameras caught Williams getting on veteran wideout Kalif Raymond after one particular play. He was giving Raymond clear feedback and direction based on something that had gone wrong earlier on a play.
Williams is unafraid to deliver the feedback and hold his teammates accountable, and he does it passionately.
What happened later on in the game?
Williams hit Raymond on a screen and he took it 39 yards and nearly scored.
You see the passion come out, many times, and his teammates respect him for it.
Caleb Williams' ability to stay cool, calm and collected perfectly round out his leadership
And then, there's the calm nature Williams is able to manifest late in games when everything is on the line. We've seen it time and time again.
We've heard from Caleb that he's long practiced multiple techniques to stay level-headed when crunch time comes around.
Williams has talked about his breathing and how he is very purposeful in the methods he inhales and exhales during those moments. We've even heard that he hums, at times, in order to keep himself calm.
There are those quarterbacks who typically lean one way and one way only in terms of their demeanor; the types who may not get all riled up or show much emotion, displaying a calm presence on many occasions.
And then, there are the guys who wear their emotion on their sleeve.
But, Caleb has proven that he can be both. He's proven that he is simply a leader, through and through.
The decision regarding his Caddix cleats is only one more feather in his cap. It's just one more way we've seen him take ownership and lead by example.
For a guy who's long been criticized for being too emotional, too flashy or out-there with his stylistic choices and maybe simply disliked for being just plain "not normal," as some might call him, Williams continues to dance to the beat of his own drum, and it's working.
Caleb is truly one of one in so many positive ways -- and above all else, he has proven to be exactly what this Bears team and the city of Chicago needs.
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